by Ronald Thomas Coslick

Attorneys are investigating the killing of Gary Shepherd, a disabled
veteran who used marijuana for medical relief. Gary was ambushed and killed
in his front yard by police sharpshooters after protesting the warrantless
landing of a helicopter near his home in rural Kentucky. Federal civil
rights actions have been brought against officers of the Rockcastle County
Sheriff and the Kentucky State Police by Shepherd's infant son Jacob and
his widow, Mary Jane Jones.

The incident leading to Gary's killing began on a Sunday morning in
August of 1993, when a helicopter on loan from the Kentucky National Guard
was landed by officers of the Governor's Marijuana Strike Force in a field
adjacent to Gary Shepherd's rural home. An officer familiar with Gary approached
and told him that he was going to come in and cut down the dozen plants
which were maturing around the perimeter of his property. Gary denied him
entrance, saying it would happen "over [his] dead body." Using
Gary's invocation of this metaphor as a pretext for his murder, the officer
departed and called in additional officers, who covertly blockaded all
routes to Gary's house and began to monitor his movements.

Playing with his son in a sandbox that afternoon, Gary was unaware that
the State Police Special Response Team (known locally as the "death
squad") had been summoned and was watching him through cross hairs.
Gary was also unaware that crowds of people were gathering at distant roadblocks
which prevented access to his home, where they were being told by police
that Gary had taken his wife and child hostage and was firing a rifle at
helicopters. Gary's brother Bill and his cousin Charles, a former police
officer and trained hostage negotiator, attempted to intervene but were
denied any opportunity to communicate with Gary.

At 5:30 p.m., Gary was again approached by the police. This time an
officer with a bull horn walked to the end of the driveway and asked Gary
to come over and talk to him. Believing the encounter to be informal, Gary
limped to his porch, picked up a rifle that was leaning there against the
house, and turned to meet the officer. When he had reached the midpoint
of his yard, a second officer camouflaged within a nearby tobacco patch
ordered Gary to freeze and drop his weapon. He froze with his arms in the
air, crying, "no, I don't believe as you do!" A concussion grenade
suddenly exploded in front of him, followed closely by shots from automatic
weapons. Gary was fatally wounded by five exploding bullets to his neck
and chest. His wife was grazed on the head by a fragment from one of the
bullets, and his son was splattered with his blood.

Although a police investigation of the incident found no wrongdoing,
requests for copies of the official report have been denied. Gary's survivors
have been subjected to repeated harassment, including physical threats
and demands that they leave the state. Other witnesses are afraid to speak
out for fear of similar retribution.

The Shepherd family is now pursuing a lawsuit in which they intend to
prove the wrongful nature of Gary's killing. They are presently attempting
to raise $1000 to cover the cost of the investigation. Donations and encouragement
can be sent to:

The Shepherd Family
P.O. Box 3236
Somerset, Kentucky 42564

You might also wish to write to the US Dept. of Justice, urging them
to look into this police abuse: